Tuesday, September 09, 2014

The Interview: Dave Hause

By the time he'd got to Leeds, It had been a long tour for Dave Hause. Standing in a field just outside the city, he had now crossed the finish line. The Philly-born singer/songwriter was feeling good, if not a little tired and hungry, after his set but seemed to be in good spirits despite having spent three weeks out on the road.

“I’m feeling like I worked hard for the last three weeks,” he said and, judging by his set, he wasn’t lying. Dave is known for putting it all out there every night, so three weeks of that is definitely going to take its toll. “It really paid off”, he continues. “The new people that we converted were really excited and then the old fans were really terrific - singing along and being supportive, it was great”. Newcomers had made up quite a bit of the audience during his set at The Lockup and Dave admitted that Leeds had been a tougher crowd than the one down South. “It just took a little longer and people are a little slower on Saturday,” he said whilst still sounding fully appreciative of his time on stage.

That time, however, was definitely less than Dave seemed used to. The tour had mainly taken place on the festival circuit and, as the man himself said, “You only get thirty minutes, so you’ve really got to make it count”. And that he did. Hause spent the majority of his time towards the end of his set getting up close and personal with his very vocal fanbase. “It was fun to be down there with the people singing” he added. Asked if he thought such regimental timeslots were restrictive, he did concede that they were but that restrictions can be good and “give you parameters to work in”. With that he smiles and says, “I like it, it’s a challenge”.

It’s a lot of people to play in front of too. The tent was pretty packed during Dave’s set, but he was humble about the entire thing, making it clear that it didn’t matter how many people were there, saying that it’s not something he focuses on. “[the amount of people] is just not what it’s about,” he says. “It’s about trying to make a connection with the people who’re there and, if you can do that, the crowds seem to continue to grow”.

“[Reading] was a real peak, because I really didn’t know what to expect,”

As a closer to the tour though, how was it? Did Dave think he’d ended this run on a high? “Yeah”, is the quick answer although, again, he leans towards Reading as the highlight over it’s Northern sibling. “[Reading] was a real peak, because I really didn’t know what to expect,” he says, noting that there’s so many factors - the timeslot, weather and other bands - to deal with. When it was all said and done though, he says he was “honoured” to play the festival.

People were definitely excited to see him too. The size of the crowd has already been established, but there was a really passionate contingent in there who loved every moment. However, I wondered how Dave thought that newer material from, latest album, Devour was going down. “It’s great” he said, “those songs are some of the best that I’ve got”. At only ten months in, it’s not quite time to put that record to bed just yet though. Plans are afoot to come back next year with a full backing band - something that Dave describes as “very freeing”. He laughs and says “that’s the opposite of restrictive”. Speaking of the forthcoming tour, he says “That’ll wrap the record,” before adding “then we’ll put a new one out”. The prospect of which is incredibly exciting, though even “exciting” doesn’t do it justice.

It might not have been ‘full band’, but Dave wasn’t alone on stage at Leeds either. His brother Tim was there performing too and the former Loved Ones frontman becomes very animated when talking about his younger sibling. “Yeah, that’s great. It’s been terrific to try and show him the ropes”. It’s clear that he’s very proud of Tim and is full of praise for him too. “He’s a great musician in his own right and we’re having a lot of fun”. Having joined Dave throughout 2014, Tim has seen the world with his brother and I can’t help but think that’s incredibly cool. “It’s been awesome to have him along,” says Dave.

As we wrapped up our short time together, I had to ask Dave what was next. “Next is: Go home, work on songs, get ready to record, go out with Hot Water Music”. Now that’s some schedule.

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